The Chosen One
by soul61
Summary: Ginny Weasley becomes one of fifteen witches competing for the bachelor's heart on this season of the Wizarding Network's The Chosen One. Drama, laughter, and romance is sure to ensue. AU


**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all things Harry Potter. The author Swanstar is where I got this idea from. Feel free to check out Swanstar's story _True To Your Heart._**

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**ONE**

"Where on earth did you get the notion that I wanted to be on a television show?" Ginny Weasley was having a terrible day. She had woken up in the afternoon after taking a nap due to a long Quidditch practice to Errol tapping on her bedroom window, holding a letter that concealed a surprise. A surprise that Ginny did not particularly enjoy. Her messy red hair seemed to flare up with her anger at her mother's betrayal. "Why would you apply me for this...this demeaning show!" She threw the letter on top of a pile of clutter in the kitchen, looking bewildered at the nerve of Molly Weasley. Her mother merely glanced at the note, and went back to reading a copy of _Witch Weekly._

"You got in, dear? That's wonderful!" Ginny gaped at her.

"Wonderful? Wonderful? Nothing about this show is wonderful!" Ginny snatched the magazine from Mrs. Weasley, not without receiving a warning glance. "Look at this!" She tapped her finger on an article. "'Witch Weekly_ reports that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, previous victors of the Wizarding Network's show_ The Chosen One_, have broken up after a misunderstanding from the show. We managed to get a few words from the bachelor himself, Mr. Malfoy. "She completely changed after the show was over. It was like she was a different person altogether." We received no comment from Ms. Parkinson.'"_ Ginny cut herself off and looked up at her mother, who was gazing at Ginny with a small frown on her face. "Well?" Ginny snapped.

"Ginny, you haven't been out in ages. Quidditch doesn't count." Mrs. Weasley added at the look on her daughter's face. "You're twenty years old, Ginevra. It's time that you start meeting boys, getting yourself out into the world, and not staying cooped up at home so much."

"And this is your way of telling me to get out into the world? By putting me on some moronic dating show?" She was outraged. Mrs. Weasley simply nodded and grabbed her magazine from Ginny's clutch. Ginny scoffed, snatched the letter from the pile of clutter, and turned around to leave the kitchen.

"If it makes things better, I hear the bachelor this season is going to be the best the show has had in a while." Ginny winced. The past five men had been gits who looked for witches with the best looks. If the new wizard was anything but what his successors had been, he wouldn't be half bad. She shook her head, there was no way she was going through with this, no matter who the mystery man was.

As soon as she closed the door to her bedroom, she laid down on her bed and proceeded to read the rest of her death sentence.

_Dear Miss Ginevra Weasley,_

_ You have been selected to participate in the sixth season of _The Chosen One _on the Wizarding Network. You will be one of fifteen witches that will attempt to win the heart of our bachelor. The identity of this bachelor shall be left anonymous until the evening of the 25__th__ of October. Please pack your luggage for a total of 30 days and nights. A select few clothing items will be available, such as evening dresses, shoes, etc. A driver shall arrive at your household at approximately 4 o'clock in the afternoon on the twenty-fifth of October. You will be driven to a remote location where you will be assigned a room with one other young lady throughout the show. Thank you for your submission to our show and we wish you the best of luck._

_Yours truly,_

_Rita Skeeter_

_Producer _

Ginny gaped at the letter. Four o'clock? The twenty-fifth? She checked her watch: the large hand was near the ten, the smaller towards the four, on the twenty-fifth of October. It was now or never. She quickly reflected on the past three years of her life since attending Hogwarts. Although she hated to admit it, her mother was right. She had done nothing but practice Quidditch and see her family twenty-four seven. It was time to take a leap of faith. Inwardly, she cursed her exhaustion from that morning's practice with the Holyhead Harpies. She hastily began packing her bags full of jeans and shirts, tossing shoes and socks here and there. Just as she tugged her brush through the last strands of her hair, she heard a loud knock on the door on the floor below.

She rushed down the flight of stairs, bags in tow, just in time to see her mother open the door for a very handsome young man in black wizards' robes. He had skin the color of milk chocolate, was lean, and had a dazzling smile on his face.

"Now, I'm guessing you're not the bachelor then, dear?" Mrs. Weasley inquired. He smiled kindly at her and shook his head.

"No, sadly, I am not the star this season." Ginny cursed under her breath. "My name is Dean Thomas, and I am here to pick up a Miss Ginevra Weasley for the show." His eyes wandered the messy room until they landed on Ginny. They seemed to widen slightly, but a moment later he was back to business. "I assume you are her?" Ginny nodded vigorously and Dean smiled yet again. "I'll take your bags, then, while you say your farewells to your family." He proceeded to grab her luggage and take it to an unseen vehicle. Ginny turned to her mother, determined not to make a fuss. The rest of her family had gone off to who knows where, leaving just her and Mrs. Weasley at home.

"Er...I guess I'll see you in a month then." Although she would miss her mother, she still harbored anger at her for entering her in the contest. All of a sudden, Mrs. Weasley let out a sob and embraced her.

"My little Ginny, all grown up!" Ginny awkwardly patted her mother on the back comfortingly. Mrs. Weasley stepped back, wiped back tears, and looked Ginny up and down. "If that young man doesn't choose you, then he must be a flobberworm." Ginny looked at her mother, and a wave of emotions washed over her. She rushed into Mrs. Weasley's arms.

"Thanks mum." She let go and with one last smile at Mrs. Weasley, she opened the door and made for the enchanted limousine that would take her to a place that could possibly change her life.

Once on the road, at a speed comparable with the Knight Bus, Dean decided to make conversation.

"So why'd you enter to be on the show?" He looked back at her in the rear view mirror.

"My mum thought it would be a good experience for me." Ginny spotted a copy of the _Daily Prophet _sitting on the leather seat next to hers and picked it up. "Mind if I read this?"

"Go right ahead." Ginny was too busy gaping at the front page of the paper to notice the tone of resentment in his voice. Underneath a large moving photo of a dark-haired young man with glasses and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead was a headline emblazoned;

_HARRY POTTER: CHOSEN ONE STAR?_

After his memorable defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, our face of the resistance seemed to drop right off of the face of the earth. At the time, spending time with friends and family and mourning the loss of those close to him was the right thing to do. Three years down the line now, it looks like the elusive Harry Potter is ready to come back into the public eye. How will he proceed to do this? By starring on the Wizarding Network's top hit show, _The Chosen One. _We received this massive piece of gossip from a close friend of Mr. Potter's, Ronald Weasley.

"Harry's just ready to give love another go, I guess." Mr. Weasley stated last week, during a Holyhead Harpies match against the Chudley Cannons. Mr. Potter, now twenty-one years of age, works for the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic, and has rounded up countless criminals since the fall of You-Know-Who three years ago.

"He will be excellent for ratings this season!" Producer Rita Skeeter exclaimed excitedly when asked about Potter's appearance on the show. "Not to mention all of the drama that is to be expected!" We received no comments from Potter himself, however _Continued on Page 2_

Ginny was astounded at the article for many reasons. The first being that her brother had told the press about Harry Potter appearing on the show. But then again, he really was an idiot that couldn't hold his tongue. The second was that the boy she had sworn to marry at the age of eleven was starring on the show. The show where she, Ginny, had to compete with other women to win the heart of that boy. Ginny had not actually seen Harry often, apart from the times when he stayed at the Burrow. Even then they had never exchanged anything more than "Could you pass the butter?" She was almost positive that he thought of her as Ron Weasley's little sister, and nothing more.

She suddenly felt nauseous. How she would be able to talk to him, let alone be in front of him, without making a fool of herself was almost inconceivable to Ginny. Her lifelong crush on the Boy Who Lived was a weakness, especially in this competition.

"We've arrived, Miss Weasley." Dean called from the driver's seat. Ginny's heart seemed to be throbbing harder and faster in her chest. Her stomach felt like a hundred butterflies were fluttering around inside.

"Er, Dean? Is there any way I could get you to drive me back to my house?" She was breaking into a cold sweat. She had never felt this way before.

"Sorry, Miss Weasley, but I've got strict orders to get you to your room."

"So take me to my room...at my house."

"I'm afraid I cannot-"

"Dean!" Ginny interrupted. "I don't want to be here!" She was panicking now, her eyes darting every which way, searching the vehicle for some means of escape. She slid over to the door and started desperately tugging on the handle. When that didn't work, she attempted to roll down the window.

"Ginevra please-" Ginny suddenly stopped, shook her head, and then pulled something out of her back pocket. It was a wand.

"_Alohomora." _The lock clicked on the door and with one last look at Dean in the front seat, she slid out of the limousine. Glancing around, she saw that she was in front of an extravagant manor. Standing four stories high, it looked like a miniature version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In one of the windows on the fourth story, she saw something move, but she paid little attention to it. At the moment, the wheels in her head were moving so fast you could practically see the smoke billowing out of her ears. She had to find a way out of there, and fast. She began to run away from the mansion.

"Wait! You have to stay!" Dean had gotten out of the limousine. A red flash of light soared past Ginny's head and hit a potted plant in front of her. She spun around and saw that Dean had his wand out. "You signed up for this show, and now you have to go through with it!"

"My mum sent in the application, not me." And with a silent _expelliarmus _ sent his way, she made a break for the exit. One moment she was running with the wind blowing through her red hair, and the next she was on the ground, immobilized. She heard the crunch of shoes on gravel nearing her, and a second later she had been rolled over and was looking up at a cloudless blue sky.

"Ginny?" She felt the spell dissipate as she slowly sat up and took the hand offered to her. She was about to thank the owner of the hand, when she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. For there, standing in front of her and looking about as confused as a boggart in a classroom full of laughing students, was Harry Potter.


End file.
